Updated at 10.55am
Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi has said that he will not retract claims that Labour backbencher Rosianne Cutajar swore at him during a parliamentary sitting, despite a ruling by the Speaker to that effect.
The Nationalist MP instead said he plans to summon Yorgen Fenech and Joseph Muscat among others to testify on the matter.
Speaker Anglu Farrugia delivered a ruling on Tuesday morning, finding that there was a prima facie breach of privilege by Azzopardi when he uploaded a Facebook post claiming Cutajar had used vulgar language directed at him.
The breach of privilege complaint was filed by Cuitajar and targeted a Facebook post that Azzopardi published on Saturday.
Azzopardi shared an image of Cutajar with the swear words she is alleged to have uttered off microphone, after he criticised 17 Black owner Yorgen Fenech by name back in November 2018.
He claimed that Cutajar was swearing at him during a heated debate on the 17 Black scandal, shortly after it emerged Fenech was the owner of the secret company designed to transfer money to offshore companies owned by former minister Konrad Mizzi and chief of staff Keith Schembri.
The following year Fenech was charged with conspiracy to murder journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Cutajar had given an impassioned speech during the sitting, pushing back at Opposition allegations about government corruption.
Speaker's ruling based on transcripts
Speaker Farrugia ruled that there was nothing in the transcripts of that heated sitting that backed up Azzopardi’s claims.
At no point had there been any complaints raised about vulgar language or interruptions.
Furthermore, Azzopardi claimed that the Speaker had heard Cutajar, something Farrugia denied.
Speaker Farrugia said Azzopardi was currently abroad on parliamentary work. He would be formally informed about the ruling when he returned and requested to retract his statement.
Failing this, the matter will be raised before a parliamentary committee that deals with MPs' conduct in the house.
Azzopardi to summon witnesses
But in a reaction on social media, Azzopardi said he would not be retracting his comments.
Instead, Azzopardi said he would be taking the matter to the parliamentary committee on privileges and then summoning several high profile witnesses to testify about luxury gifts Cutajar had allegedly received.
The committee is tasked with handling issues referred to it by the Speaker or the House and has the power to summon witnesses or order documents to be presented to it.
Among the witnesses that Azzopardi said he would be summoning are 17 Black owner Yorgen Fenech, former prime minister Joseph Muscat, businesswoman and Muscat family friend Diane Izzo, and minister Edward Zammit Lewis.
Azzopardi said he would also summon former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri, Marion Mizzi, Cutajar's associate Charles Farrugia, as well as officials from the Financial Crime Investigation Department, author Mark Camilleri, and third parties.
“I retract nothing. Nothing. Because it is the truth,” he wrote.
“Rosianne: you walked straight into this one.”